The process of giving a gift can be stressful, time-consuming, and frustrating. A gift giver may experience stress as a result of attempting to determine an appropriate and desirable gift to present to the intended recipient, and the process of procuring the gift may require more time than the giver may reasonably devote to the process. For long distance giving, the giver often must travel to a post office or other shipping business, wait in line, and spend additional money beyond the cost of the gift to ensure the delivery of the gift to the recipient, which can be a stressful and time-consuming experience.
Further, the gift-giving experience may be frustrating for the giver and the recipient if the recipient is not pleased with the selected gift. In this situation, the giver will be frustrated because the investment of time and money in the gift-giving process did not yield the desired result of pleasing the recipient. Further, the recipient is frustrated, and possibly embarrassed, because the gift is not desired, and the recipient must either pretend to be pleased with the gift, or honestly report to the giver that the gift is unwanted so that the gift may be returned or exchanged for a more desirable item. This entails more wasted time, effort, and expense. Additionally, the earth's environment is negatively impacted as a result of producing and delivering the gift, which may be unwanted.
Conventional gift cards may not be a suitable solution to these problems. Giving conventional gift cards can feel impersonal because they are not customized or personalized for the particular recipient. Further, the gift card must still be physically shipped to the recipient, which takes additional time, negatively impacts the environment, includes the risk of fraud or being lost in shipment, and may require the recipient to shop at a particular store, which may also go out of business.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new method of gift giving that is personalized, efficient, environmentally friendly, and pleasing to both the giver and the recipient.